Hesperia founding directors Ben Lisle and Adrian Fini.
Date: 01.07.2020
Two West Australian property developers behind some of the state’s most recognisable projects have merged after 15 years of working together.
Adrian Fini’s Fini Group and Ben Lisle’s Linc Property have been working under the same Subiaco roof for the past seven years but the two developers have decided to make it official and will now operate under the merged Hesperia brand.
The two groups are behind some of WA’s most famous developments including Mr Fini’s state buildings and COMO The Treasury in the Perth CBD, and Linc’s Swan Brewery Industrial Park.
Hesperia has more than $1 billion worth of developments under way including the Roe Highway Logistics Park and the Murdoch Health and Knowledge Precinct.
Neither would reveal what future developments had caught their eye but said they had about $1 billion more in projects they were looking at adding to the pipeline.
“There are areas were more interested in … obviously industrial supported by ongoing growth in e-commerce and logistics, medical is an area we’re also interested in given the ageing demographic and ongoing increasing health needs of society,” Mr Lisle said.
Mr Fini said the pair had good expertise and experience across the development spectrum.
“Both of us enjoy complex projects, things that need regeneration, be from that heritage perspective or brownfields perspective,” he said.
“We care deeply about Western Australia and creating places of real value. Underpinning all our work is the pursuit of sustainable, intelligent design that respects and celebrates our heritage.”
Mr Lisle said the company would also look at more build to rent developments, where developers keep ownership of homes or apartments rather than selling them off.
“We see the wealth ship that has occurred in the generations meaning that is probably going to play a more significant part in the housing solutions, affordable housing solutions and the millennials and generations to follow,” he said.
Despite the crushing impact the pandemic has had on the construction sector both men are optimistic that stimulus measures and planning reforms will see it come out stronger at the other side.
“[In property] there is always room to grow as long as you have a conservative balance sheet and you’re not a big risk player, we aren’t,” Mr Fini said.
“We play a fairly conservative game that is well-considered and ensure that we manage our risks wisely before we enter transactions and the reality is we know we will see new opportunities ahead of us.”
